Is the band of Elvis impersonators who live downstairs from you practicing for their big gig this weekend? Do you really need to get out of town? Here are three reasons to go, July 12-14:

GO SOUTH

Are you a fan of the Fremont Fair? Then you’ll love the Oregon Country Fair, probably the Northwest’s biggest art extravaganza, music festival, free-thinker, sustainable, activist hippie love-in of the summer. Help celebrate its 44th year —

Expect masked merrymakers at the Oregon Country Fair near Eugene this weekend. (AP photo)

that takes it back to 1969, yeah that would be about right. On a wooded site near Veneta, Ore., 13 miles west of Eugene, the Country Fair is described by organizers as a “time-of-your-life cultural immersion” at which everyone is encouraged to dress up and you should expect “parades and surprises around every bend.” Plus, of course, lots of music, food vendors, arts and crafts, the “Daredevil Vaudeville Palace,” and enough colorful banners and flags to outfit a New Age army. It’s Friday through Sunday. Tickets (off-site sales only) are $22-$28 a day, or $57 for the weekend. $8-$10/day parking.

About Us

Kristin Jackson, travel editor at The Seattle Times, grew up in Italy, went to university in Britain, and worked as a journalist in London and Vancouver, B.C., before migrating back to Seattle where she’s happy at her desk but way happier on the road.

Brian J. Cantwell, Outdoors editor at The Seattle Times, is a Seattle native who chose not to leave -- except for every chance he gets to go someplace interesting or adventurous. He lives on his sailboat at Shilshole Bay Marina.